Product Description

Dear Reader,

If you have just picked up this particular book, then it is not too late to put it back down. Like the previous books in A Series of Unfortunate Events, there is nothing to be found in these pages but misery, despair, and discomfort, and you still have time to choose something else to read.

Within the chapters of this story, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire encounter a darkened staircase, a red herring, some friends in a dire situation, three mysterious initials, a liar with an evil scheme, a secret passageway, and parsley soda.

I have sworn to write down these tales of the Baudelaire orphans so the general public will know each terrible thing that has happened to them, but if you decide to read something else instead, you will save yourself from a heapful of horror and woe.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11257 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-01
• Released on: 2001-02-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780064408646
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Fans of Lemony Snicket's wonderful Series of Unfortunate Events won't be surprised to find that in the sixth installment the three Baudelaire orphans' new home proves to be something of a mixed bag. As our ever sad but helpful narrator states, "Although 'a mixed bag' sometimes refers to a plastic bag that has been stirred in a bowl, more often it is used to describe a situation that has both good parts and bad parts. An afternoon at the movie theater, for instance, would be a mixed bag if your favorite movie were showing, but if you had to eat gravel instead of popcorn. A trip to the zoo would be a very mixed bag if the weather were beautiful, but all of the man-and woman-eating lions were running around loose." And so it is for the bad-luck Baudelaires. Their fancy new 71-bedroom home on 667 Dark Avenue is inhabited by Esmé Gigi Geniveve Squalor (the city's sixth most important financial advisor), and her kindly husband, Jerome, who doesn't like to argue. Esmé is obsessed by the trends du jour (orphans are "in"), and because elevators are "out," Sunny, Violet, and Klaus have to trudge up 66 flights of stairs to reach the Squalors' penthouse apartment. (Other unfortunate trends include pinstripe suits, aqueous martinis--water with a faint olive-y taste--parsley soda, and ocean decorations.)

As the book begins, the Baudelaires are not only frightened in anticipation of their next (inevitable) encounter with the evil, moneygrubbing Count Olaf but they are also mourning the disappearance of their dear new friends from The Austere Academy, the Quagmires. It doesn't take long for Olaf to show up in another of his horrific disguises... but if he is on Dark Avenue, what has he done with the Quagmires? Once again, the resourceful orphans use their unique talents (Violet's inventions, Klaus's research skills, and the infant Sunny's strong teeth) in a fruitless attempt to escape from terrible tragedy. Is there a gleam of hope for the orphans and their new friends? Most certainly not. The only thing we can really count on are more gloriously gloomy adventures in the seventh book, The Vile Village. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-The resourceful, likable, but extremely unlucky orphans Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny continue to flee from the clutches of the fortune-hunting, disguise-wearing Count Olaf. Also, they need to discover the whereabouts of their kidnapped friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, based on the puzzling clue "V.F.D." In Elevator, the three Baudelaires go to live in the penthouse of the trend-following Jerome and Esme Squalor, who adopt the children because orphans are "in." Despite the Baudelaires' resourcefulness, both Olaf and the Quagmires elude the grasp of the authorities due to the obtuseness of adults who, until it is too late, deny that terrible things can happen. In Village, the Baudelaires travel to V.F.D., a village that adopts the orphans based on the aphorism, "it takes a village to raise a child." They uncover the whereabouts of the Quagmires, but, as in the earlier books, they find neither respite nor peace from Count Olaf's machinations. Despite Snicket's artful turning of cliches on their well-worn heads, Elevator sometimes belabors the fallacy of fads at the expense of plot. Nonetheless, the satiric treatment of adults' insistence upon decorum at the expense of truth is simultaneously satisfying and unsettling, as are the deft slams at slant journalism in Village. Arch literary allusions enhance the stories for readers on different levels. Despite Snicket's perpetual caveats to "put this book down and pick up another one," the Baudelaires are dynamic characters who inspire loyalty to the inevitable end of the series.

Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Reviewed with Lemony Snicket's The Vile Village.

Gr. 3-6. The Ersatz Elevator , "Book the Sixth," in A Series of Unfortunate Events, opens with the hapless Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, climbing up very dark stairs to the penthouse, the home of their new guardians, Mr and Mrs. Squalor. Genial Mr. Squalor seems genuinely delighted to have the children. Mrs. Squalor is a different matter: her life is ruled by "what's in" (aqueous martinis, pinstripe suits, and orphans) and "what's out" (alcoholic martinis, light, and elevators). Mr. Squalor's life is ruled by Mrs. Squalor. Children will enjoy the humorous barbs aimed at Mrs. Squalor and her ilk. The plot thickens with the reappearance of the nefarious Count Olaf, first in disguise to do his dastardly deeds and then unmasked to sneer at the Baudelaires. "Book the Seventh," The Vile Village , pokes wicked fun at the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" and at aphorisms in general: "The quoting of an aphorism, like the angry barking or a dog or the smell of overcooked broccoli, rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen." Sure enough, the Baudelaires are soon adopted by an entire town whose inhabitants look upon the orphans as free labor. The Baudelaires struggle to solve the riddling messages that could lead them to rescue the Quagmire triplets, while trying to avoid being burned at the stake. Series fans will enjoy the quick pace, entertaining authorial asides, and over-the-top characterizations, and Brett Helquist's droll pencil drawings will add to their reading pleasure. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Snicket's back and better than ever!
Orphans are in and that means one thing. Esme and Jerome Squalor want to adopt the Baudelaire orphans. Violet, Sunny, and Klaus go and live with The Squalors at their penthouse at 667 Dark Aveneue. Just when they are settling in, their nemesis starts to appear. Gunther, who claims to be an auctioneer, is indeed not who he says he is. This gets the Baudelaires investigating, and that leads them through many new adventures and mysteries.

"The Ersatz Elevator" is Snicket at his best since "The Wide Window." This sixth edition in the series is a very important one as it the base of knowing of what's to come. If you have read the other five novels in "The Series of Unfortunate Events," then you must read this one. If not, start with the others. This is the most addicting of the books yet. We've had to wait since August for this book, so there's no reason at all why this marvelous one should not be read. Snicket is getting better and better each time he writes a new volume. A definite must read.

Happy Reading!

The Baudelaire orphans' miserable adventures continue.
After the series of disastrous events at Prufrock Preparatory School, and the kidnapping of their only friends, the two Quagmire triplets, the three Baudelaire orphans have been sent to live with the wealthy Esme Squalor and her husband Jerome in their seventy-one bedroom penthouse at 667 Dark Avenue. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are happy to be returning to the city where they were born, but they fear for the capture Quagmires, who are at the mercy of Count Olaf, and naturally, they fear Count Olaf has yet another dastardly plan to steal the Baudelaire fortune. And their new guardians aren't doing much to ease their fears. Jerome is kind but naive, and Esme only cares about what's fashionable and what's not. As usual, it's up to the Baudelaires to save themselves from the clutches of the evil Count Olaf and his dastardly accomplices. This was one of my favorite books in A Series of Unfortunate Events. I reccomend this darkly funny book to all fans of the series.

The Elevator is Out
After "The Austere Academy", I wondered whether this series of books could get any better. They can and they did. In "The Ersatz Elevator", the sixth book in this series, the Baudelaire orphans move in with a non-relative in a penthouse apartment. While you might think that a penthouse apartment (which has something like 71 bedrooms) and kitchens, and sitting rooms, and on and on, would be a lovely place to live, you would be thinking wrong, because this is one of the books in "A Series of Unfortunate Events", and those of you that have read the previous books know that little good comes to pass concerning the Baudelaire orphans.

This time the problem is that Esme Squalor (the sixth most important financial advisor in the city) and her husband Jerome are way too hung up on what is "in". Esme must go to only the "in" restaurants; she must wear only "in" clothes, which includes the children, and on and on. Unfortunately, being "in" also means multiple compromises in terms of comfort. For example, the penthouse is on the top of a building with 66 stories, and elevators are "out". So the Squalors and the Baudelaires must walk up and down the 66 stories each time the go in to and out from the building. They certainly received sufficient exercise. Before I forget, orphans are also "in".

Of course, we know that Count Olaf must eventually show up, and he does. However, there is a mystery. We find that Count Olaf went up to the apartment and did not later leave the building. Therein lies the crux of the mystery for this story.

This story climaxes with the children running briefly into old friends, and then losing them again. They also nearly catch Count Olaf, again. In the end, the children are forced to find a new home once again. Unfortunately I am unable to tell you more, because Lemony Snicket, should he ever escape from his current predicament, would hunt me down and provide me with agony should I reveal the end of this Baudelaire tale. Suffice it to say that the Baudelaires have their best adventure yet, with even better to come.

This series has had its strong points and its weak points. In general this book is one of the better ones in the series, readily matching "The Austere Academy". In addition to the direct lessons provided in the book, the children once again are masters of their own fates, and are forced to get themselves out of their predicaments with minimal adult help. I also enjoyed the moral tale provided by Lemony Snicket regarding people that must always keep up with everyone else in style or fashion. For this last point alone the book is a must-read for every teenage child.

The violence in this story is a bit more muted than in some of the previous books, and I think that an 8 or 9 year old child should be able to handle the story well. Certainly Esme could generate a great deal of family discussion of status and whether status is sufficiently important to cause people pain or to break laws.

In keeping with the trend of the last book, this book continues to expose the children to new experiences and to challenge their abilities to take care of themselves. Once again, while there are certainly negative aspects to the story, the positive aspects outweigh the negatives. This book is easily a good successor to "The Austere Academy", and sets a standard for the next books in the series. I will tell you now that the next two books are just as good as or better than this book and "The Austere Academy", thus continuing the excellence of this unconventional children's series. 5 stars again!